Summary: Harry Potter was looking forward on spending some weeks with the Weasleys. Severus Snape thought he would just run another quick errand for the Headmaster. But suddenly they find themselves on the run, and far away from Hogwarts the Boy-Who-Lived and the Death-Eater-Turned-Spy discover that behind the facades they are both only human. Guest Appearances by Mrs. Figg, the Dursleys and everyone's favorite dog-animagus. NOT SLASH!

Disclaimer
Mrs. Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter. I don't.
I only borrow some of her characters to play around with them.

Not beta-read yet

Unfamiliar Roads
by Clio

Chapter 6 –A Sirius Talk

Behind him Harry could hear the door being slammed shut. He sighed and trudged down the corridor of the tenement house. What should he tell Sirius? A curious Muggle woman had poked her head out of the door to see what all the commotion in the hallway was about, but retreated quickly when Harry looked at her.

Down on the street it took him a while to locate Sirius. Then he noticed a shaggy black head peeking around the back of a parked car. The dog barked once and trotted towards the entrance of a small park, which was squeezed between two brick houses a little further down the road. Before he followed his godfather in an appropriate distance Harry quickly glanced up to the flat, where he thought he saw a shadow behind the window.

Once in the lonely park he looked around in confusion until he spotted the black dog between some neglected-looking rose bushes. Harry crouched down next to Sirius who extended his front leg and pawed Harry's arm as if he wanted to play with him. Surprised Harry held out his arm and immediately a heavy paw fell onto it. After a quick glance around Sirius transformed, using the offered arm as support when he stood up.

He pulled Harry up, too. "Almost thought you wouldn't make it!"

Harry flinched when Sirius had attained his human form. Snape's face had been a bloody mess when he had left him, and Sirius was not better off. One eye was already swollen shut, and his lower lip was split.

"Um, you don't look particularly good, Sirius."

Sirius smirked. "I don't care, as long as that Slytherin git looks worse. He is worse to wear, right?"

Harry doubted that the fight, judging by the visible injuries, had seen Sirius as the true winner, but kept that to himself. "I think you have broken his nose."

"About time. I have fantasized about doing just that since I was in school." Sirius inspected his hand, where the skin over the knuckles was chafed. "Hurts a bit, but it certainly was worth it." He stretched his fingers. "I will heal that later. We have to hurry now." He looked around Harry. "Where is your trunk? You haven't left it in the flat, have you?"

Harry didn't answer.

"Oh, no. Harry! Now we have to go up and collect it. And I bet Snape will be seething. Maybe there is another way to retrieve it. We could summon your trunk and Hedwig's cage. No, that would be too peculiar with all the Muggles around. Maybe I could howl under the window until Snape throws the trunk after me." Sirius wriggled his eyebrows. "Nah, it's a stupid idea. He'd probably throw his shoe at me, and then I'd pass out from the smell, don't you think?" Sirius flashed a smile at Harry and started to pace in front of him. "Suppose one of us could distract the old snake, the other could ..."

"Sirius, wait." Harry cleared his throat to get rid of the sudden tightness. He wasn't successful. "We don't need to get my things. I'm not coming with you."

Sirius stopped pacing and blinked twice. "What?"

Harry took a deep breath. "You know, Snape is really acting on Dumbledore's request. Dumbledore knows I'm here. He didn't kidnap me."

"But, but it's ... Snape!"

"I know. It sounds a bit strange, but he really was not unfriendly to me."

"Harry, there is something fishy going on! Snape never shows any kindness, towards no-one. Are you sure it's not a trap? "

"Snape came to Mrs. Figg's to pick me up. There he was told to go to London with me."

"But did you actually see him talking to the Headmaster about it?"

"No. Mrs. Figg ..."

"Ha!" Sirius interrupted Harry. "See, I told you there was something wrong."

"Sirius, please. I saw Mrs. Figg talking to Professor Dumbledore about Snape taking me to London."

Apparently Harry had finally convinced Sirius. He was silent for a moment before he started pacing again. "Okay, okay. He did not kidnap you. Good. Now, what do we do? Since I'm here now, there is no more need for him to harass you. You could just go up to the flat again and tell him that I will take over from here. Then you grab your stuff and we disappear from London. Easy piece of cake!" Sirius stopped and grinned at Harry.

"No, Sirius, you still don't understand."

"I don't?"

Harry braced himself for the hardest part. "I think it would maybe be better if I stayed with Snape."

"You don't want to come with me?" The disappointment in Sirius voice was obvious. Harry was unable to meet his eyes when he nodded.

"Why? Harry, I'm your godfather. Do you think I cannot take care of you?"

"Of course you can. It's just that ... that you are still hiding from the Aurors. They are still searching for you." Harry bit his lips and started to pry leaves from the bush next to him.

"Well, we don't need to stay in England, you know. We could go to Jamaica, or maybe Hawaii." Sirius said flatly.

"Sirius, I cannot explain it properly, but I think it is better if I stayed in Britain. Maybe I can help if there is really an attack at Hogwarts or something."

Sirius stepped towards Harry and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to worry about that, Harry. Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard. He can look after Hogwarts himself. No need for you to feel responsible."

Harry shrugged. "But I have the twin of Voldemort's wand, and my blood is mixed with his since his re-birth. Maybe they will need me to fight him."

"I wish you would stop saying his name, Harry. You are way to brave for your own good." Sirius smiled at his godson with a mixture of sorrow and pride. "And so you figured it would be better for you to stay here with Snape?"

Harry nodded mutely.

Sirius lifted his arms and let them fall back helplessly again. "Harry, I meant what I said earlier. Snape really was a Death Eater. He is a dangerous man."

"I'll watch my back, Sirius."

Sirius looked down to the ground, where he pushed a stone around with the tip of his shoe. "Maybe you are right Harry. It probably will be the best if you stayed with Snape. It is just ... you know, I would have really loved to spend some time with you. Not as a dog, like last year, but as myself. You ... you are growing up so fast, you know."

Harry again felt his throat tighten.

"It would be so nice, the two of us together. Relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean, watching the dolphins. And fix us a nice meal right there on the beach from some fish we caught. We could play some Quidditch."

It sounded wonderful, but somewhere back in his mind Harry heard Snape's mocking voice asking What will you do? Hide in some remote forest and hunt mice and salamanders for dinner?

For some minutes Harry and Sirius only looked at each other, unable to say anything. Above them a blackbird launched into an inappropriately cheerful song. Then Sirius broke the silence. "Did Snape say what he wants to do now?"

Harry shrugged. Snape hadn't told him anything about his plans. Come to think of it, Snape hadn't told him anything at all. They had barely talked to each other in the last 24 hours. "I guess it is time for me to go back then. And you also should leave before anyone sees you."

Sirius nodded. "Ok."

Harry hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you for understanding."

"I still don't like the idea, Harry. To stay with Snape, of all people! I'm sure James would turn in his grave if he knew what you are doing," Sirius mumbled into Harry's shoulder.

Harry drew back. "I'll be fine, Sirius."

Sirius nodded grimly. "You better are, because if that Slytherin snake hurts you in any way, I swear I will find him and break him more than just his nose. You can tell him that."

After his farewell from Sirius Harry slowly trudged back up the stairs. Had he made the right decision? Up in the hallway Harry's doubts became even stronger. What if Snape would refuse to let him back into the flat? Harry had been convinced it was an empty threat when he had gone to talk to Sirius, but now he was not so sure anymore.

When he reached the door it took Harry a great effort to knock. He hesitated and watched his hand hover over the peeling paint for a moment. He had faced Voldemort, and a basilisk, and now he was afraid to talk to Snape? Ridiculous. He was a Gryffindor lion, right? Roar, roar. It was his bloody right to be here.

Harry knocked and waited. Nothing happened. Again he rapped the door. And finally, when Harry was already contemplating to leave, the door opened. One look at Snape, and Harry was not so sure anymore that he wouldn't curse him on the spot. He was still fuming. Angrily he glowered at Harry, his wand ready in his hand.

"What do you want, Potter?" he spat.

Harry desperately searched for words. The Gryffindor lion in him had slinked off and gone into hiding.

"Well?"

"I ... I ..." Harry's mind remained blank.

"Stop stuttering, Potter. And get out of my sight."

"No. I ... er ..."

"Speak in coherent sentences when you are addressing me!" Snape hollered.

Harry winced. The nosy woman he had seen earlier stuck her head out into the hallway again. Snape, who had noticed her, too, glared into her direction, but she only pulled the door a little bit closer and continued to watch them through the cleft.

"Um, couldn't we talk inside?"

Snape looked down at him. Then, without another word he stepped away from the door. Harry hesitated before he followed him into the flat and closed the door gingerly.

Snape stood next to the couch with his arms folded over his chest and studied Harry wordlessly. His nose had stopped bleeding, but it looked swollen and sore. Through the open bathroom door Harry could see that the first aid cabinet was open. A blood stained towel lay on the floor. It seemed that Harry had just interrupted Snape in tending to his wounds. Harry swallowed.

"Well, Potter," Snape said again.

"I ... er, thought I, .. . I should ... um, could, could I stay with you?"

Snape tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I didn't hear you properly."

"Could I stay here? With you? Please."

For a long time Snape looked at him as if he was especially disgusting potion brewed by Neville Longbottom. One with green lumps. And a really bad odor.

"Pathetic. If only you could see how pathetic you are, Potter." Snape turned on his heel and went into the bathroom.

Harry stood forlorn in the middle of the living room. "Right. Well, thank you, um, I suppose. Professor?"

Snape didn't answer. Through the wide cracks of the warped wooden bathroom door Harry could see bright flashes of light followed by muffled curses. Obviously Snape had moved from potions to spells to heal whatever damage Sirius had done.

Harry went over to the couch and sat down uneasy. Had returning to the flat really been the right thing? Snape certainly had not looked as if he appreciated Harry's decision.

Then Snape emerged from the bathroom, but he shot Harry, who froze on the couch, only a brief, unpleasant glare before he vanished into the bedroom.

After a while Snape, who now had changed from the bloodstained shirt into a fresh one, returned to the living room. "Get your things together, Potter. We're leaving."

"W-why?" Harry looked up to meet Snape's eye. The proportions and color of his nose seemed to be almost back to normal.

"If that imbecile Black can find us here, anyone can. And get your owl out of the cage, Potter."

"Hedwig? Why?"

"Because I want it to deliver a letter. Now hurry."

"Who is the letter going to?"

Snape stepped closer. "I don't believe that's any of your business, Potter."

Harry decided not to be put off that easily. "She is my owl. I want to know where you sent her."

Snape had already brushed by him and opened Hedwig's cage at the window. "I don't care what you want."

Hedwig hissed angrily, and when he reached inside the cage she hacked at his fingers. Snape cursed and jerked back his hand. "Potter! Come here and get that wretched bird of yours out of the cage."

Harry didn't move. "I won't do anything before you tell me where you are going to send her."

Snape stared at him. "Three points from Gryffindor," he snarled.

Harry took all his courage together. "We are not in school, Professor."

Although Snape didn't bat an eyelash Harry could tell from years of experience that he was furious. The veins in his temples were clearly visible. After a moment he broke his eye contact with Harry and pulled an envelope out from his pocket. He slammed onto the windowsill. Harry moved closer, but couldn't to see the address, which was covered by Snape's palm still resting on the envelope.

"I warn you, Potter. I'm not in the mood for your childish antics." Snape hissed and withdrew his hand.

The address on the envelope read:

To the Ministry of Magic
Department of Accidental Magic Reversal
Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
Mr. A. Weasley (confidential)

Harry swallowed. They were arguing about a letter to Arthur Weasley? He looked up to Snape, who had folded his arms and was regarding him with a calculating expression. "You are sending a letter to Mr. Weasley? Why?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "I thought he would be an obvious choice to contact the Order. He is working at the Ministry here in London, where he gets a lot of owls. Even an owl as striking as yours will not attract attention. " Snape grimaced towards Hedwig. "The Order needs to know you are with me, and that we will not stay in this place. I also would imagine the Weasley family including that nosy Granger girl to be very worried about you after the latest news from Little Whinging. I can't afford the whole Weasley clan to snivel after us like Black did."

Harry swallowed. He hadn't thought about the Weasleys. Of course they would be out of their minds in worry if they read the paper. And Hermoine, too.
"What if the letter is intercepted?" he asked, not wanting to let Snape know he had a valid point.

"It is coded with a spell Arthur will recognize. Why, Mr. Potter, don't you deem your -beast- trustworthy enough to deliver the letter directly Arthur?" Snape smiled sardonically at Harry

Hedwig bristled in her cage. Harry, not having an answer to that, snatched the letter from the windowsill and tied it to Hedwig's leg. His hands were shaking with anger. Why did Snape have to play mind games? Did he want to test Harry's trust in him?

"Tell your bird to stay with the Weasleys. It is too easily recognized to be of use for you under the current circumstances." Snape snarled from the door. Again he was right, and Harry hated him for that.

After he had Hedwig sent on her way, Harry took his trunk and went over to the door, where Snape was angrily struggling with a Muggle style jacket. With difficulties he finally managed to lift his injured arm high enough to slide it into the sleeve. When he saw that Harry was watching him, he barked: "Move, Potter, what are you waiting for?"

A minute later they sat in the car. On their way down the hall Snape had quickly pointed his wand at the door of the nosy woman and muttered a few words under his breath. Harry was sure it had been an especially nasty curse.



None of them spoke while they drove through London. To Harry's surprise Snape parked the car in a small but busy street. He had suspected that they would leave the town.

"Where are we?"

"Look into the rear mirror, " Snape told him. "Do you see the entrance to the alley there? The one next to the laundry?"

"Yes."

"In that alley the back entrance to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary is located. It is a passage into Diagon Alley. "

Harry looked at him wide-eyed. "We are going to Diagon Alley?"

"Wrong, Potter. I am going to Diagon Ally, you will stay in the car. I need to have a word with a person or two."

"What if you meet one of your Death Eater friends?"

Harry had expected Snape to become angry over this remark, but Snape's face only contorted into a self-satisfied smirk. He pulled a potion vial from the inner pocket of his jacket. "This, Potter, is a strictly controlled and not quite legal potion by the name of Polyjuice Potion. I don't expect you to know it, since it is a very advanced potion, which is far beyond your knowledge of the subject."

Harry bit his lip. His memories of him, Ron and Hermione brewing said potion in their second year were quite livid.

Snape, however, misread his reaction. "I see you remember Crouch using it to impose Mr. Moody two years ago."

Harry nodded meekly. Somehow this made Snape fall into his classroom mode. "The potion is very difficult to brew. It demands a high amount of precision in both timing and measuring the ingredients. It's a potion I wouldn't even allow my 7th year students to touch."

Harry had trouble to not break into a grin. Hermione had managed to brew the potion in her second year. Either the potion was not as difficult as Snape described it, or his own skills as a Potion Master were not nearly as high as he always made his classes believe.

Snape, not knowing how familiar Harry was with the potion, used the opportunity to lecture him further. "Polyjuice Potion contains among other things bicorn horn, the skin of a boomslang, fluxweed and leeches. The combination of these ingredients makes it very volatile at times. Do you know another potion where leeches are used in, Potter?"

Harry flinched.

Snape again looked very satisfied with himself. "I believe the Shrinking Solution was part of your 3rd year curriculum, wasn't it? I don't think you will pass your N.E.W.T.S. if you keep paying that little attention to your classes." He smiled unfriendly.

Harry wished he could rub into Snape's face that he knew all about the stupid Polyjuice Potion, even had already brewed it himself.

The glee vanished from Snape's face, and he became very serious again. "The use of Polyjuice Potion is quite dangerous and therefore the Ministry tries to keep close tabs on it. Almost like Veritaserum. If not made correctly, or if the dose is too large, both have devastating effects on the users mind. There have been cases in which people were stuck in their Polyjuice persona or were rendered insane when the potion was wearing of. Some officials view both Veritaserum and Polyjuice Potion as dark magic, because of the possibilities of manipulation and their interference with the very structure of the mind or the body respectively."

While Snape swirled the potion in its vial pensively Harry thought of Hermione's face covered with cat hair. Had she known that Polyjuice Potion could be dangerous? Probably not. All of a sudden he was not sure if brewing the Polyjuice all by themselves had been a good idea back then. He was jerked from his musings by a sudden movement in the driver's seat.

Snape had knocked back the potion. In amazement Harry watched his hair getting shorter and lighter, his long arms and legs shortening, and his whole body filling out and aging. When the process halted Harry found himself looking at a plump man around sixty with short gray hair and a lot of merry wrinkles around the eyes. Snape pulled the small mirror towards him and took in his changed appearance. He grimaced and prodded at the double chin and the fat cheeks which were hanging over the collar of his miraculously extended shirt. Quickly he opened the topmost button.

Harry had to press a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from bursting out with laughter when Snape clumsily climbed out of the car.

"Stay in the car, Potter." Snape shot him a last furious glance. Then he slammed the door shut with much more force than necessary.
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A/N: It always takes me a long time to update. It's not because a lack of ideas or a writer's block, it's more a lack of time. I'm happy to send you an e-mail when I update. Just leave your address with your review.

Thank you for your support, Warlady, fairychild713, Lady Foxfire, star*, katyosha, Wormtail's worst enemy (nice pen name!), Elven-Lady-Elioclya, Lady NorthernLion, gypsy princess, Lady Laura.

Deity: I do my best to keep everyone in character. But I'm not sure if I can keep that up when the story progresses.
Tegan: We actually don't see much Snape-Sirius interaction in the books. But this is what I believe it would be like. Snape, who is physically inferior, provoking Sirius with words until he bodily strikes back. BTW, everyone go and read Tegan's story Dark Land, it's deep and dark and definitely thought provoking.
Dark Fairy: You 'want Harry and Snape to be all nice and stuff'? Where would be the fun in that? But don't worry, I will force them to be at least civil to each other. ; )
elcee: That's surely the strangest compliment my fic ever got. Well, thank you, I suppose.
Zardiphillian Beryllix (author of You'll Never be Alone, one of the best Snape/ Harry fics currently at ff.net.): Right, Snape wants to help Harry, but he would rather bite his tongue off then admit it. We'll see who will end up needing whose help.
Jaws: Thanks for your constant reviewing. I must admit I quite enjoyed to push Harry into that emotional abyss after his moment of happiness.
caius julius: I guess real Sirius fans would disagree with you about Sirius being Sirius in the last part. Couldn't resist to put the Lineker quote at the beginning of chapter 5.
Sasina: I'm not Sirius' biggest fan, but I'm sure he would love to have an opportunity to punch Snape.
Princess Kattera: As the fic goes on Snape will be happy if every obstacle would be so easily solved as Sirius appearance.
Artemis fire mage of Golin: Huh?
n Snape: Don't be sorry for Snape. He might be physically inferior to Sirius, but it doesn't mean he is losing every fight he picks.
LegacyLady: You made me very happy by sending me that mail during the period when ff.net wasn't accepting reviews.
M.LeCroix: I wouldn't say I depict Snape's day-to-day life. Both he and Harry are in a very unusual situation here. For Snape as a smoker- I used that in another fic (Fortuna's Bitter Smile) a long while ago, and I found it fitted his personality. The idea is straight from the HP books themselves. Snape's teeth are a couple of times described as yellowish (something you get from excessive coffee, tea or tobacco abuse) and in GoF, Ch.18 'Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy'. Plus he doesn't strike me as someone who is overly concerned about cancer risks etc. He is much more likely to die of stomach ulcer or a stray Avada Kedavra anyway.